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Laundry Care Symbols Explained: Your Essential Wash Care Label Guide

Today’s article is about cryptic wash care symbols found on the tags of your clothing. I am about to provide you with a useful, printable chart of the laundry care symbols and their meanings. Get ready to demystify and learn the significance behind those whacky laundry symbols. They’re actually there for a reason!

Laundry care symbols, listen up!

Laundry care symbols… oh how I once loathed thee. You have always had good intentions and I’ve always known that you were put on this Earth (and on the labels of my clothes) for good reason: to “guide” me to make the right decisions when washing my favorite articles of clothing so that I wouldn’t shrink, discolor or misshapen them. I appreciate your kind and purposeful gestures throughout the years, but to be honest with you, I never understood you.

It’s my own fault for not taking the time to study and understand your mysterious and confusing language. I have no one but myself to blame for all of the clothes I have destroyed in the past. I never listened to you; instead I often ignored your quiet instructions, advice and warnings, and my clothes repeatedly paid the price. The sting is strong, but I am here to tell you that our relationship is about to improve.

It brings me great happiness to announce that I have finally taken the time to learn more about your language. The discovery of a laundry care symbols chart has given me hope that I now have a laundering-hack tool of epic proportions. Although your jargon is a wee-bit insane, I will now follow your sage advice, in hope that it will help me make better decisions with future washes.

Laundry care symbols

What are laundry care symbols?

Also known as wash care symbols, laundry care symbols are pictograms printed on clothing care labels (care tags). These labels typically state the fabric type and often include, in order, four symbols: washing, bleaching, ironing and drying. The symbols explain the best way to clean the clothing.

History of laundry care symbols

In 1963, to keep up to date with technical and ecological developments with textiles, the international textile and garment care organization GINETEX (Groupement Internationale d’Etiquetage pour l’Entretien des Textiles) was formed. Its founding members included the Federal Republic of Germany, France and Switzerland.

Soon after GINETEX’s formation, laundry care symbols were created and became registered trademarks in most countries. The Federal Trade Commission now enforces the Care Labeling Rule. There are also standards that manufacturers have to follow when using the symbols on their clothing labels.

Photo credit: persil.com

An essential wash care label guide

Laundry Care Symbols And Their Meanings

Time to get down to business with the essential wash care label guide. Created by ihateironing, this laundry symbols label guide lists some of the most common laundry symbols along with their meanings. It is beautifully simple!

Print it

Following this guide will ensure that you are properly caring for all of your most valuable threads. To print this chart, click on the above image, or click here. After printing, put it in your laundry room and use it weekly to decipher the meanings your laundry’s wash care symbols. Your clothes and your sanity may depend on it!

Take away

It’s time to change your laundering game! Stop guessing and stop messing. Put an end to washing all of your clothes in the same cycle. Print out this essential wash care label guide, follow its sound advice and do a happy dance because ruining your clothing will soon be a thing of the past. Yay! 🙂

What do you think?

Will you use this laundry care symbols guide or do you consider it a waste of time?

Am I weird for waiting until I was in my 30s to look this information up?

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About Me

Hey, I'm Jen. I help people who are stuck in health, life, and physical performance to develop sustainable lifestyle and movement strategies, so they can reclaim their innate healthy nature and live a dynamic and adaptable life. Read more...

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About Me

Hey, I'm Jen. I help people who are stuck in health, life, and physical performance to develop sustainable lifestyle and movement strategies, so they can reclaim their innate healthy nature and live a dynamic and adaptable life. Read more...